Cinderizo
by Jenny1751
Summary: It's story time with Thatch! Ace and Haruta ask for a story and he tells them one about a young boy who faces the cruelty of his step family but soon finds his true love. Did I mention the boy was a crossdresser who showed up at a ball as a woman and had the prince fall in love with him? Izo/Smoker.
1. The story of Cinders

***ERRORS EDITED***

**Hey~! So this is a two-shot I'm gonna do. I was inspired after watching a random episode of Family Guy, it was an episode with Fairy tale parodies. (Don't really like the show though, just got bored and watched it) And also, I saw a blog on tumblr that shipped Smoker/Izou and I wanted to try it.**

**THERE IS NO ROMANCE YET ON THIS CHAPTER**

**I wanted it to be a one-shot, but it's late. I reached 3,240 words already so this should be good enough for now. Also, friendly reminder that this is the first time in a long time that I've worked on a story. (Although I did just post an FT fic earlier today, does that count?) So please go easy on me. Also, I had no time to proof read. Feel free to point out errors ^_^**

**Enjoy ~ !**

* * *

"Alright, bedtime!" Thatch announced.

"Aww~!" his younger brother and sister whined, they had been playing with their toys on the living room and obviously didn't want to go to bed yet.

"C'mon, you two clean up this mess." he only sighed at their pouts, although they did do what he said and started cleaning up. His siblings can be quite a handful. Haruta, his little sister, was nine and they either spoiled her too much or she was just really bossy. Ace, on the other hand, was seven, and his energy was almost too much to handle. He was often going around causing trouble and Haruta would occasionally help him out. All in all, it was always fun to look after them.

"I don't want to go to bed yet." Ace whined.

"Yeah, I know. But it's late and you need your rest." Thatch told him as he led them both to the room they shared. Thankfully, they were already in their pajamas so it saved him some trouble.

"But I'm not tired yet." Haruta pouted, making Thatch sigh.

"Figures. They two of you are always so full of energy." he muttered before an idea struck him. "Hey, why don't I tell you a story?"

At this, their eyes brightened and they dashed forward into their room making Thatch laugh. When he arrived to where they were, the both of them were already in their beds, tucked him and looking at him expectantly.

"Alright, so . . . a story, huh?" Thatch thought for a second. "What kind of story do you guys want to hear?"

"Tell us something romantic!" Haruta exclaimed, making Ace grimace.

"Eew!"

"Shut up, Ace!"

"Romantic, huh?" Thatch pondered on this a bit. "Well then, how about a classic?"

He took a seat on Haruta's bed, her grinned widened and she looked at him with excitement. Ace, on the other hand, seemed disappointed but it doesn't mean he lost interest completely.

"Alright, so . . ."

* * *

**Once upon a time,** there was a wealthy family who lived happily in a large mansion with their large dog Stefan. The gentleman was wise and kind; he loved his wife and son deeply. But one day, that man contracted a disease and died. His family was devastated, especially his wife. The now widowed lady was left with all the fortune his husband left behind, but the grief and loneliness for the loss of her beloved along with the worry of how his son would grow up without a father pushed her to a decision to marry again.

She married a man who she found charming, a wealthy man by the name of Diamante, who was known and idolized throughout the entire kingdom. Diamante was a widower who had two daughters who were roughly the same age as the woman's son, Baby 5 and Sugar. The woman was glad that her son would now have a father who would look after him along with two sisters who would make sure he was never lonely. What she didn't know, however, was that Diamante was actually an evil and despicable man. One day, while she was on her way to a friend's house, she got into an accident which took her life. Diamante was left with all of the fortune and his true personality was revealed.

He began to treat the son like a slave, ordering him around and making him do all the work. His daughters, on the other hand, were no better. They made fun of him and made his work more difficult. Needless to say, his life with his step family was a miserable one.

"Cinders? Cinders!" Baby 5 called out. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm hungry! And you're so slow~!" Sugar complained.

Cinders immediately emerged from the kitchen and into the dining room and approached his stepsisters. They were both confused when they saw that he didn't bring their food with him but they didn't have time to ask about it.

A bucket connected to Baby 5's face and she almost fell off of her seat with the force of the impact.

Sugar's eyes widened in shock then she turned to glare at him. "Cinders! What in the world?!"

Cinders only glared back at her. "Shut the hell up! If you're so hungry then go prepare your own food!"

"Cinders!" Diamante marched into the room looking outraged. "You better learn your place, brat! Don't go hitting my daughters with brooms!"

"Okay, _first of all_, my name is not Cinders. It's Izou, you senile clown!" Izou yelled back. "Second of all, I hit her with a bucket, not a broom. Lastly, you better teach these spoiled little wenches to _learn some manners_!"

Although Izou was being forced to serve them as a slave, he didn't do so obediently. He always fought back to defend himself and made an effort to piss them off. He did the work but made sure they knew that they can't just tell him what to do (even though in the end he always ended up doing what they told him to do anyway, no matter what it was). He also made it no secret how much he hated them and felt the need to remind them everyday with insult and his daily show of defiance.

It was obvious to everyone though that Izou would do whatever they told him to do, they just had to go through a session of yelling at each other first. It was tiring, but it was still better than doing the chores themselves. Izou did all the work, resulting in him being incredibly tired everyday which only worsened his life of misery. One time, while he was scrubbing the floor near the fireplace, he accidentally fell asleep and when he woke up, he was covered in cinders. His stepsisters unfortunately saw him in such a state and laughed at him. They made fun of him and called him 'cinders' which made the man yell and throw things at them. Although they did stop laughing, the name stuck which only served to aggravate him even more.

"Just go get breakfast, you brat! Do it before I kick you out!" Diamante snapped at him, Izou glared at him for a moment longer before turning on his heel and stomping towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Baby 5 was rubbing her sore forehead while Sugar kept asking if she was alright.

"That jerk . . ." Baby 5 muttered. "Father, why don't we just kick him out and find a better servant?"

"Yeah! We can find one that's more obedient and causes less trouble!" Sugar added.

"Because, my dear daughters, he works for free." Diamante told them. "I'd rather not waste money unnecessarily."

His two daughters huffed in disappointment but said no more. A little while later, Izou emerged once again with plates filled with pancakes that were coated in syrup. Stefan, a large white retriever, followed closely behind him.

"Mmmm." Sugar smiled when the delicious aroma reached her.

They were each given a plate and Izou crossed her arms, leaning against the wall as he watched them eat. He had been required to do so, and even though it was annoying he had no choice.

"By the way, Cinders." Baby 5 said. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

"It's not a dress, it's a kimono." he snapped at her and Stefan barked in agreement. "Although I suppose I wouldn't expect you to know that, you uncultured swine."

Baby 5 felt a vein throb on her fore head, but before she could retort Sugar spoke up. "Are you wearing make-up?"

"Why, yes. Thank you for noticing." he gave them a proud smile, but the two sisters only exchanged a confused look.

"Cinders, you're a _man_." Baby 5 said.

"Yes, I am. And?"

"Men don't wear make-up and dresses. Or . . . whatever it is you're wearing."

"You didn't say that when you made me wear one of your dresses a couple days ago." he frowned.

Baby 5 recalled forcing Izou to wear a dress. It had been an old one, something she found ugly and she would never be caught dead wearing in public in it. But despite that, other people may have still found it nice, she probably just thought it was too plain. Anyway, she had an idea and with the help of Sugar, they forced Izou to wear the dress. It was supposed to be a way to degrade the man but looking at what he was wearing now, it seemed to have a completely different effect. More like they awakened a weird fetish, the thought made her shudder.

"Where did you get those anyway?" Sugar asked.

"It was my mother's. I didn't think she'd have such good taste though, I never even saw her in such nice clothes. She always wore dresses that were much too extravagant."

". . . I don't even . . ." Baby 5 sighed. "If your parents could see you now . . ."

"What's wrong with a man wearing make-up, anyway? Or just wearing dresses?" Izou snapped. "Make-up shouldn't be exclusively for women. And dresses are clothes. Clothes are supposed to cover your skin. Why do people have to put labels on which ones are people of a specific gender is supposed to wear?"

". . . Fine, do what you want."

* * *

"His step family is just a bunch of assholes." Haruta said and Ace nodded in agreement.

"Okay, one; don't say that word-"

"But you just-"

"Two; there are a lot of people like that in the world. So you just work hard to make sure you don't become anything like these evil, uncultured swines, alright?"

"Alright." they both nodded.

"Good, now where was I . . ?"

* * *

One day, they received a letter from the king, inviting them to a grand ball that was to be held that night. Apparently, they were searching for possible candidates to become the prince's bride. Needless to say, Diamante's daughters were ecstatic.

"Oh my goodness, the prince is looking for a bride!" Baby 5 squealed.

"I can become a princess! And someday I may become a queen!" Sugar said, her eyes shining in excitement. Diamante watched his daughters with a grin while Izou simply crossed his arms and stared at them with a frown.

"Cinders! Quickly, go prepare my finest dress! I must get ready!"

"Me too!" Sugar added.

"Yeah, yeah . . ." he muttered before going off to do what they say. Nobody seemed to notice his lack of defiance.

He spent his whole day helping the two prepare for the ball, It took hours before the women finally decided on what to wear and it took even longer until they got their make-up right. As the sun set, they were all set. Baby 5 had her hair curled and was wearing a velvet gown that was a bit too reavealing. It was plain and had a slit that ended halfway through her right thigh. Sugar, on the other hand, was dressed more appropriately, but a bit too childishly. She was wearing a puffy pink gown with puffy sleeves and white bows decorated around it. Izou snorted, you would have never believed that the two were related.

"Oi, Cinders. You're not coming with us." Diamante stated. "So do some cleaning; when we get home the mansion better be spotless."

"Shut up! When you get home you'll probably forget that you told me that anyway, you senile."

"Why you- !"

"Daddy, let's go! Hurry!" Sugar whined, making Diamante grumble.

"You better not do anything stupid, you hear?" he said before joining his daughters in the carriage and soon they were off. Izou watched the carriage until it disappeared out of sight. He went back inside where Stefan was waiting for him, the dog seemed to sense that there was something wrong with his master and barked. He ran around the man and tried to get his attention in an attempt to cheer him up but Izou only smiled and petted his head before making his way outside, to the garden in their backyard.

"I kind of wanted to go to the ball . . ." Izou admitted to his pet. "It's been really long since I've seen anyone else other than those jerks. I'm getting really lonely here."

Stefan let out a whine and he patted his head.

"I wonder . . ." Izou muttered, looking at the sky and seeing the countless stars begin to appear. He began to remember his family, the parents who loved him dearly. Now they were both dead and he was being given such cruel treatment by the family of a man his mother had decided to marry for his sake. He hated how they could be so cruel to him. He hated how they kept on threatening to kick him out of _his_ home. Izou clenched his fists.

"Maybe I should kill them after all."

At this, Stefan stared at him in what seemed to be in shock before he started barking loudly, startling him.

"Oh, c'mon! It's not like they won't deserve it!" he reasoned but the dog only growled at him which annoyed him even more. "I thought you were on my side!"

Izou crossed his arms. "Don't worry, I've given it enough thought. I think I know how I can make it look like an accident . . ."

"There's no need to kill anyone." a voice spoke, making Izou jump in shock. He turned to the source of the voice just in time to see a man materialize in front of him. The man looked weird no matter how long Izou stared at him. He was dressed like an elf and he had a weird hairstyle.

This man was a magical being, powerful, skilled and wise. He was known as Fairy God Marco.

* * *

"_Who_?" Ace asked incredulously.

"Fairy God Marco." Thatch repeated with a grin.

"Uh . . . don't you mean 'Fairy godmother'?" Haruta asked.

"No."

". . . oh."

"Alright then, back to the story.

* * *

"Who the hell are you?!" Izou asked, glaring at him and looked like he was prepared to either run or fight. Stefan, on the other hand, was growling at this stranger and prepared to protect his master if the need arose.

"Relax, I'm here to help you." Fairy God Marco said. "I'm your Fairy godparent, call me Marco."

"My fairy godparent?" Izou raised an eyebrow. "You mean like Cosmo and Wanda? Aren't I too old for that crap?"

"No, there's no age limit actually. But yeah, I guess that shit left you with a bad impression of us, huh?" Marco sighed. "Frankly, yes. I am like them, minus the wings, crowns and all that girly crap. Anyway, I'm here to help ease your misery."

Izou's eyes widened and they began to fill with hope. "Really? You'll make my wishes come true and help me get my happy ending?"

"Yeah."

"That's wonderful!" Izou grinned. "I want my step family to die in a horrible accident. But don't kill them right off, make sure they suffer first. Break all their bones or something like that."

"Woah, woah. Calm down." Marco raised his arms up. "I can't kill anyone with my magic, if I could I would be doing something else right now. Probably would have gone dark side, although after watching that dumbass pirate captain chase around that brat from Neverland, it doesn't sound so appealing anymore."

"Tsk. Then what _can_ you help me with?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

The blonde pondered on this for a bit. "Well . . . you said you wanted to go to the ball didn't you? I can help you with that."

Izou's expression brightened at this. "You can?!"

Marco shrugged. "Sure."

And with this, he took out a wand and waved it around. He turned Stefan into a horse and a pumpkin that had been in the garden into a carriage. He transformed his clothes and made it look like that of a fancy horseman's before he turned to Izou.

"Alright then, a fancy tuxedo should do the trick."

"What? No!" Izou snapped. "Make me a beautiful gown."

The fairy blinked at this. "What?"

"A gown! A pretty one that would make anyone turn and look at me."

". . . You're serious?"

"Yes, I am! Anyways, if I go in a tuxedo everyone would know that I'm a man and then my step family might recognize me. So I think I'll dress as a woman tonight." Izou said.

Marco only stared at him before shrugging. "Suit yourself."

He waved his wand around and the kimono Izou had been wearing transformed into a beautiful fuschia gown. His hair, having grown out a bit since his mother's death and never having an opportunity to cut it, had barely reached his shoulders but now had hair extensions making it reach his waist. And on his feet were glass slippers.

"Wow~!"

"Alright, get in." Marco said, hopping onto the carriage. "Tonight you will be a pretty lady in the ball, but by midnight the magic will disappear and everything will return to normal. So you must remember to leave before the clock strikes twelve."

"Understood." Izou nodded. "But why does the magic disappear by midnight?"

"Oh, I need to get back home by then. I promised Oyaji that I wouldn't be out longer than that and if I take too long he might start drinking again which is bad for his health." the blond explained.

". . . You have a_ curfew_?"

"Hey, listen. I'm not even supposed to be here, okay? The plan was to go to a party hosted by a bunch of elves, have a good time and go home. But then I heard that you were in distress and it's my job to help you."

"Okay, wait up. You came from a party hosted by _elves_?" the crossdresser asked. "I . . . Well, I guess that explains the outfit you wore earlier."

"Yeah, they really knew how to party back at the North Pole." Marco smirked. "Anyway, we should get going."

"Oh, right. Let's!" Izou got inside the carriage and soon they were off, heading towards the palace where Izou expected to have the best night of his life. But the palace was still a bit far off so Izou got bored and decided to chat with Marco a bit during the journey.

"So . . . you're a fairy, right?"

"Yep."

"What was with that princess from the other kingdom?"

". . . What?"

"You know, the chick who fell asleep for a hundred years or something like that."

"_Oh_, you mean that. Okay, first of all, the girl's only been asleep for, like, a few hours. And she didn't get cursed when she was a baby, it happened when she was sixteen."

"Really?" Izou raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yes, really. Some fairy got pissed off at the kind or something, I don't know. The fairy's name was Miss Valentine, I think. The king had an affair with her and apparently they were supposed to go on a date together but the king slept in and didn't show up. Chick was seriously pissed off, probably thought that the king was gonna break up with her so she showed up for the princess' sixteenth birthday and cursed her." Marco explained.

Izou whistled at this. "_Wow_."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

**Well, I'll try to post the next one tomorrow. This is actually a practice fic to try and get me back in shape. I think I got a little rusty after going back on hiatus. Please feel free to make any comments but don't be too harsh please.**

**If this fic gets enough positive reviews I think I'll probably do more fairy tale parodies. Tell me what you think!**

**I hope you enjoyed and that I made you laugh!**

**Please review ~ !**

** ~ RnR ~ !**

** ~ RnR ~ !**


	2. At the ball

**Still not much romance in this chapter. I feel so disappointed in myself . . . I said I'd update yesterday but stuff happened so sorry . . .**

**Turns out two chapters ain't enough. I guess I had too much fun writing this even though I think nothing much happens. It's more like a filler if you ask me, so sorry~ TT_TT I planned on this being a two-shot but my time on the laptop is very limited and I spent it on working on this. Luckily, I managed to construct a 3,174 word chapter. I didn't even have time to proofread so feel free to point out any mistakes.**

**The next chapter should be the last though, or at least I'll try. So please enjoy ~ !**

* * *

". . . And that's what really happened to that wooden brat." Marco explained as the carriage came to a stop in front of the palace where the grand ball would be held. Izo was just staring at him in shock, seemingly not aware that they have already reached their destination.

"You mean to tell me that Pinocchio-"

"Yes." the blond deadpanned. "People tend to sugarcoat things. Although I personally prefer the original ones."

"Oh my God, I think I'm gonna puke." a hand flew to the crossdresser's mouth.

"Don't, you might ruin your lipstick . . . and your dress too."

"Ugh . . ."

"Look, we're here. So stop wasting time and get going."

"Alright, alright! Just give me a sec . . ." Izou started fixing his gown, tucking it and making sure it's straight. Marco looked at him, obviously confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I . . . brought something along, just in case." was the reply. "Although it's really annoying since this thing doesn't have any pockets. And it has a lot of layers too."

"What did you bring?"

"Oh, nothing. Just . . . something I could defend myself with." Now this made Marco gravely concerned, but before he could ask more Izou already got off the carriage.

Izou sighed, finally restoring his gown to an acceptable condition before regaining his composure and looking at the palace for the first time in his life. His eyes widened and he gasped at the sheer extravagance of it. The trance he was in was only broken when Marco cleared his throat.

"Well then, go on inside."

"What? You're not coming with me?" Izou asked, confused.

"Of course not, why would I?"

"But I don't know anybody in there!" he exclaimed nervously. "It's been so long since I've been with anyone that isn't a complete jerk! I need you to stick around so I don't make a complete fool out of myself."

Marco sighed. "Fine . . ."

He took out his wand again, waved it and transformed his clothes to that of a butler's. Izou smiled brightly at him, although the blond just seemed annoyed. They entered the palace and inside it was even more extravagant. The whole room seemed to light up and there was a beautiful glass chandelier at the very center of the ceiling, people dressed extravagantly and moving gracefully. Izou stared at the room in awe but somehow managed to not notice that a lot of people started staring at him.

When he entered, he literally made heads turn. Everyone was shocked and taken aback, they all seemed to admire this stranger for 'her' unprecedented beauty. People started whispering, asking who she was but of course, no one knew.

Marco was, of course, the one who noticed how Izou unknowingly caught a lot of people's attention. Although majority of the people haven't noticed their arrival since they seemed to be too occupied socializing, the ones who did notice them seemed flabbergasted and, the women at least, looked jealous. It made him smirk, he barely did anything with his magic. All he did was give Izou a gown, glass slippers and some make-up but it seemed the man had a certain charm that attracted others. He shrugged it off, since he doesn't see how this will be a problem, he thought it was best if he didn't tell Izou.

"Wow~! This is amazing!" Izou said, breath-taken.

"Yeah . . ." the blond replied with a bored tone before something caught his eye. "Hey, look."

Izou turned to the direction he was pointing at and saw that there was a long line, almost entirely composed of women. He raised an eyebrow at this, some of them seemed nervous while others were confident and trying to adjust their clothes and make-up.

"What's up?"

"It seems that they're lining up to meet the prince." Marco answered.

". . . Oh." he replied simply. "Well, I have no interest in that. Let's go see what food they're serving."

". . . That's what you're interested in?"

"Oh, c'mon! Food should always be a priority."

* * *

"I agree with him." Ace grinned.

"That's because you're always hungry, you idiot." Haruta retorted.

"What did you call me?!"

"Now, now. Don't fight." Thatch chuckled.

"Hey, Thatch. What happened to his step family when they arrived?" Haruta asked.

"Oh, them? Well . . ."

* * *

"Tsk. He didn't even spare me a glance." Baby 5 complained. "He just looked bored!"

"Well, there are a lot of people here. So I guess it would be hard to get his attention." Sugar mumbled, also feeling disappointed. Eating her favorite grapes didn't seem to help cheer her up at all. "Aw~! I was really looking forward to becoming a princess, too."

"Oh, don't be upset. The both of you are still princesses in my eyes . . ." Diamante said.

"Shut up, Daddy!" Baby 5 snapped. "I wanted to become a _real_ one!"

"W-well . . . I suppose it can't be helped." he said, unsure. "But you know, the prince still hasn't decided yet. The two of you still have a chance."

The two girls perked up at this.

"Y-you're right! There's still hope!" Baby 5 grinned. "I guess it had been a mistake to fall in like with those other women. It just made us look like commoners! We have to prove that we're better than all these other ladies."

"We just have to get his attention somehow." Sugar said. "But how are we going to do that?"

"Why don't you dance and show the prince how graceful you can be?" Diamante suggested.

"That's it!" Sugar grinned before they ran off. "You're a genius, Daddy!"

This made the man sigh in relief. Finally, he'd be able to actually socialize and enjoy himself. His daughters can be such a handful sometimes.

* * *

"Hmph. I doubt the prince would just notice them just because they dance 'gracefully'." Haruta commented, crossing her arms.

"I doubt they'd be able to catch his attention at all. At least, I hope they don't, for his own good." Ace said. "I sure wouldn't want to marry someone like them."

"I'm sure you won't Ace." Thatch said.

"But, who knows, I guess?" Haruta shrugged. "Maybe there are people who like those kinds of people."

"What? No way!" Ace said.

"Yeah! My homeroom teacher, Ms. Robin, told me that everyone has a 'type'. And it's different for everyone."

"Well, the prince would be really weird if they're his 'type'."

Thatch cleared his throat. "Okay, why don't we get back to the story?"

They both nodded and he smiled at them.

"Well then, if you're interested about the prince, then I'll tell you about him . . ."

* * *

The prince was a strong man who trained with his soldiers. He has been training hard ever since he was a child and was determined to make the kingdom a safe place to live in. His father, the king, often scolded him and said that he shouldn't be among such commoners and that he was of high nobility. Being born with such a status requires some dignity that he should preserve, but the prince didn't not listen to his father's words. He believed that a leader should work with his people to create a better place where people may leave in peace. He believes that in order to be a good leader, he must first learn more about what his people is going through. Of course, his father did not agree with him but he chose to ignore him most of the time.

He did not get along with the king, in general. They disagreed when it comes to a lot of things. But what the king had suggested only a few days prior was crossing the line, it was just ridiculous.

Finding a bride.

Of course, he found it ridiculous. He had no interest in finding one, but he was left with no choice but to attend to the grand ball his father set up so he could find someone 'with potential'. The thought made him sigh, his father can just do whatever he wants, he didn't care anymore. He had spent hours introducing himself to dozens of ladies who wanted to be his bride. He knew that most, if not all, of them only wanted the status and power that comes with it so he didn't bother paying attention to their names. He just let his servant, Coby, remember them.

He personally didn't enjoy his status, although most were envious of it. He didn't like to be addressed as a 'prince'. But most of the time, he asked others, like the servants, to just call him by his name; Smoker. Yes, it was a strange one, but unique names seemed to be common in their kingdom and no one seemed to question it. Coby had the most normal name of anyone he ever knew so far.

Anyway, during public events like this, no matter how much he hated it, he had no choice but to acknowledge his status. Otherwise, he'd just get a scolding from his father and he'd rather avoid that.

Introductions were finally finished and he immediately took a seat, not in the mood to socialize. Although he can sense all the woman who had their eyes on him, staring at him longingly. He decided to ignore them though, since none of them really caught his interest.

"Your Highness, the king has humbly requested your active participation in this important event. He believes that it is essential that you socialize more with our guests." the other servant, Helmeppo, said after bowing. Smoker only scoffed at this.

"I swear . . ." he stood up and made his way through the room. He didn't really plan on socializing, he just thought that if he roamed around a bit it would get his father off his back. But as he passed the buffet table, he bumped into someone.

"Excuse me-"

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" he heard a voice said before looking at the person. His eyes widened at the beautiful stranger smiling apologetically at him.

"I-it's okay." Damn, why did he stutter? He mentally shook his head and reminded himself that this woman was probably like all the other women here. But to his surprise, she just walked away. Normally, people would be embarrassed or at least try to converse with him but she just acted as if he wasn't a person of high stature. That was a first.

"Eh? H-how rude!" Coby said, also surprised by her behavior. But unlike him, Smoker was not offended.

"Coby, who is she?" this made the servant blink in confusion before pondering on it for a bit.

"Now that I think about it, I don't really know, your Highness. She didn't come to introduce herself."

"She didn't?" Smoker asked, even more shocked.

"No, I'm fairly certain that I've never seen her before."

* * *

A few minutes earlier . . .

"Well, I gotta admit . . ." Marco said, taking a bite of chocolate cake. "You humans have the best ideas. I remember when you first invented chocolate, and it's by far the greatest idea in history."

"I don't even know what you're talking about, but yeah the cake's good." Izou nodded, he looked around after finishing his cake, looking for something fun to do when something- or better yet, someone- cat his eye.

"Oh, my~!"

"Hm? What? What is it?" Marco asked.

"Would ya look at that." the crossdresser tipped his chin up, motioning ahead and Marco's eyes landed on a silver-haired man roaming around although seemingly not paying attention to where he was going.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken, that's the prince."

"The prince?" Izou raised an eyebrow. "Well his looks sure are something befitting royalty."

". . . what?"

"Like _damn_, I'd tap that for free."

"Okay, _look_. Normally, I wouldn't be able to care_ less_ if it weren't for the fact that this is the _prince_ you're talking about. Do you have any idea how stuck-up and violent royalty can be? They can be really merciless if they want to."

* * *

". . . And then the conversation continued on, but I'm gonna skip on that because it pretty much turns PG-18 from there." Thatch said.

The two kids blinked in confusion.

"What did he want to tap?" Haruta asked innocently.

"Is it something you have to pay for?" Ace added.

". . . I need to remember that I'm telling a children's story." the man sighed. "Anywho . . ."

* * *

There was an indescribable silence as Marco stared at Izou with an unreadable expression while said man only smirked at him. This went on for quite some time until the blond finally spoke up.

"I did not need to know that."

"Oh, c'mon~."

"I've only met you a few hours ago, Izou. I did not need to know all you weird fetishes."

"Well, I suppose it's just one of those things that comes with being my friend."

"Since when were we friends?"

"Since you told me about what really happened after the princess kissed that frog."

Marco thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess that isn't something you tell to just anyone."

"See?"

"Oh, hey. Look at that, the prince's coming this way."

"Seriously?!"

"No, don't look." the fairy stopped him."You'll make it obvious that we're talking about him."

"Oh my God, how's my hair? Is it alright?"

"You look fine." he waved it off. "Okay, listen. There's some fruits behind you, casually reach for them and that way you'll be able to look around without looking suspicious."

"Okay, good plan." Izou made a move to turn around but then caught a glimpse of the prince. "Oh, _dear lord_."

"Tsk, I swear . . ." Marco sighed, taking his wand out of nowhere. "I have to do everything by myself, don't I?"

He waved it inconspicuously and Izou found himself turning around, seemingly without any control over his body and walking towards the man. This made his eyes widen.

"Marco . . !" he whispered harshly.

"You'll thank me later." the blond said before turning back to give his full attention once again to his cake.

Izou walked forward, trying to remain calm as to not draw any unnecessary attention. Only when he bumped into the silver-haired man did he recover control over his actions. Man, he was going to kill that damned fairy! But for now, he had to make sure he didn't make a fool out of himself so he quickly regained his composure.

"Excuse me-"

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Izou managed to give him a apologetic smile, he could only hope that the man couldn't see how nervous he actually was.

"I-it's okay."

Izou vaguely wondered about how the confident-looking man just stuttered but he just brushed it off and walked away, deciding that if he walked back to where he came from then it would look a bit suspicious. He couldn't wait to find the dumbass who almost made him make a fool out of himself though.

As if on cue, Marco appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. His eyebrow was raised along with his arms, looking like he didn't know what to say.

"What the hell was that?"

"I should be asking you that." Izou glared and hissed at him. "I didn't ask for your help, Marco. I could've handled all that myself."

"I beg to differ." the blond sighed. "You could've at least tried to talk to him."

"I came here to have some fun, not to flirt with good-looking men. Although it would be nice to spend some time with him, he_is_ the prince. The man has better things to do, this ball is being held so that he could find a bride, after all."

"So . . . you're not interested in him, after all?"

"Of course, I'm interested in him. He's totally my type, but I'd rather not waste my time in someone I don't have a chance with." Izou sighed.

"Ouch, that's a bit harsh."

"Life is harsh."

"So what if the prince asked you to dance with him."

Izou raised an eyebrow in confusion before thinking about it. "Well, I guess that's not something I could say no to."

Marco hummed in understanding and the brunette's eyes widened before glaring at the fairy.

"Don't you dare use your magic!"

"I won't! God, you have so little faith in me."

This made Izou cross his arms. "Well, you can't really blame me, can you?"

"Excuse me." they were interrupted when someone tapped at Izou's shoulder and he turned around to look at that person with a clearly annoyed expression. But his eyes only widened when he saw who it was.

"Y-Your Highness." Izou made a move to bow, but then he remembered that he was technically a woman during that moment and, instead, curtsied. He sensed Marco bow behind him. The prince only smirked and Izou couldn't help but blush, finding the expression attractive on the man and also embarrassed, but unsure why.

"So you do know me."

"I-I do apologize for earlier." Izou said, making sure that his voice sounded as feminine as possible without it sounding forced in any way. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"No, there's nothing to apologize about. I wasn't paying attention either."

Marco watched all this, trying to hide how highly amused he was. Looking around, he could see a lot of people staring at them. All the women were glaring at Izou, obviously in jealousy. He resisted the urge to smirk, well he did hear that the prince hasn't made any effort to approach anyone tonight. He only spoke when spoken to, specifically during introductions earlier on. So that means Izou must have caught his eye, why he didn't exactly know.

"Would you mind sharing a dance with me?" The prince asked, holding out a hand to Izou who's eyes widened at the invitation.

"B-but your highness, surely there must be other women here who you would rather have as company."

The prince raised an eyebrow at this. "You're the first person I met who hasn't jumped at the opportunity to be with me."

"Oh, I don't mean to offend you, your highness-" The prince waved it off.

"It's fine, you seem like you'd make fine company. So won't you accept my invitation?"

Izou hesitated a bit before sighing and taking his hand. With that, they made their way to the dance floor with Marco smirking at them.

* * *

**I hoped you liked it ~ !**

**It was so weird writing Marco as a fairy and Smoker as a prince. I also wanted this chappie to have more romance or at least be funny but not much though. -_- I think I did get rusty from not writing for so long. I'll try to make it up to you on the next chappie though!**

**P.S. There's a typhoon here in the Philippines and classes have been suspended. Please pray for us! Hopefully, it's not that strong but classes have been suspended still. Who knows? Maybe it'll give me time tomorrow to finish this.**

**Anyway, Please review ~ !**

** ~ RnR ~ !**

** ~ RnR ~ !**


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